Getting around New York: OMNY, subway and ferries

If you've used Opal in Sydney or myki in Melbourne, you already understand New York's fare system. You just need to know the numbers, and which trains OMNY doesn't cover.

The short version

Subways and local buses cost $3 a ride from 4 January 2026. Pay by tapping a contactless card, phone or watch at the OMNY reader [1].
Tap the same card or device and you'll never pay more than $35 in a week. After 12 rides in seven days, the rest are free [1].
MetroCards stopped being sold at the end of 2025. If you want a physical card, an OMNY card costs $2 [1][2].
LIRR, Metro-North, PATH and NYC Ferry each have their own fares and don't count towards your OMNY cap [1][3][4].
The cheapest way to JFK is the subway plus AirTrain, about $11.75 in 2026 [5].

How OMNY works

OMNY (One Metro New York) is the MTA's tap-and-go system on every subway station and local bus. There's no card to register and nothing to top up. You tap a contactless bank card, a phone or watch wallet, or a reloadable OMNY card on the reader, and the fare comes off your card [1].

The rule that matters is one card, one device. The fare cap and the free transfers follow whatever you tap. If you tap your phone on Monday and your physical Visa on Tuesday, OMNY treats them as two different riders, even if they're linked to the same account. Pick one and stick with it.

The weekly fare cap

From January 2026, the MTA made the weekly cap permanent and replaced the old 7-day and 30-day unlimited MetroCards. After 12 paid rides in a seven-day period, every extra ride is free, so nobody pays more than $35 in a week [1]. For a five-day commuter doing two trips a day, the cap kicks in on Saturday. Reduced-fare riders (seniors and people with disabilities) pay half [1][2].

Transfers are free between the subway and local buses, and between buses, when you tap the same card within two hours. Express buses into Manhattan have their own, higher fare: $7.25 a ride in 2026 [2].

Paying with an Australian card

An Australian Visa or Mastercard with tap-and-go works at OMNY readers, and so does Apple Pay or Google Pay loaded with an Aussie card. The catch is fees. Many Australian banks charge a foreign transaction fee of a few per cent on every tap. At 12 rides a week, those small charges add up. Once your US bank account is open, switch to your US debit card and stay on it.

Fares at a glance (2026)

Service	Standard fare	Counts towards OMNY cap?	How to pay
Subway and local bus	$3	Yes	OMNY tap [1]
Express bus	$7.25	Separate express fare	OMNY tap [2]
LIRR or Metro-North within the city (CityTicket)	$5.25 off-peak, $7.25 peak	No	TrainTime app or ticket machine [1]
PATH (to New Jersey)	$3.25 from 4 May 2026	No	TAPP contactless or PATH card [4]
NYC Ferry	$5 from 19 October 2026	No	NYC Ferry app or terminal machine [3]
AirTrain JFK	$8.75	No	Tap at Jamaica or Howard Beach [5]
Citi Bike annual membership	$239 a year	No	Citi Bike app [6]

All fares are in US dollars. They tend to change each January, so check before you budget.

Beyond the subway: ferries, commuter rail and PATH

NYC Ferry

NYC Ferry runs across the East River, out to Astoria, Rockaway, Soundview and St George, and along the Brooklyn waterfront. It's the closest thing New York has to a Manly ferry commute. The one-way fare rose from $4.50 to $5 on 19 October 2026, a 10-trip pass is around $30, and a two-day unlimited ticket is now a permanent product at $15 [3]. Ferry fares don't count towards the OMNY cap, so a daily ferry commuter pays for both if they connect to the subway.

The Staten Island Ferry is a separate, free city service between Whitehall in Lower Manhattan and St George.

LIRR and Metro-North

The Long Island Rail Road (from Penn Station and Grand Central Madison out to Queens and Long Island) and Metro-North (from Grand Central up to the Bronx, Westchester and Connecticut) are commuter railways, closer to Sydney Trains' intercity lines than to the subway. Fares go by zone and time of day.

Within the five boroughs, a CityTicket costs $5.25 off-peak and $7.25 peak in 2026 [1]. That's often worth it from Jamaica, Forest Hills or the north Bronx, where the train is much faster than the subway. Since 2026, one-way tickets expire at 4am the day after you buy them, and round trips have been replaced by day passes [2]. Kids aged 5 to 17 travel for $1 each with a paying adult under the Family Fare [2].

Buy before you board, either in the MTA's TrainTime app or at a station machine. Paying the conductor on the train costs extra [1][2].

PATH

PATH is run by the Port Authority, not the MTA. It links Midtown, the West Village and the World Trade Center with Hoboken, Jersey City and Newark. A single ride is $3.25 from 4 May 2026, with cheaper multi-trip and 30-day options on its TAPP contactless system [4]. Your OMNY taps and PATH taps are counted separately.

Driving into Manhattan: congestion pricing

New York was the first US city to charge a congestion toll. Since January 2025, vehicles entering Manhattan's Congestion Relief Zone, which covers local streets at or below 60th Street, pay a toll [7]. A passenger car with E-ZPass pays $9 at peak times (5am to 9pm on weekdays, 9am to 9pm on weekends) and $2.25 overnight. Without E-ZPass it's $13.50 peak [8]. The MTA plans to raise the car toll to $12 in 2028 [8]. The FDR Drive and West Side Highway are excluded [7].

The toll pays for subway upgrades. If you live in Manhattan below 60th Street, it's one more reason to skip the car. Our guide to driving in New York on your Australian licence covers the DMV side.

Citi Bike

Citi Bike is the city's bike-share scheme, with docks across Manhattan and large parts of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. An annual membership is $239 in 2026, which covers standard rides up to the time limit. Members pay $0.27 a minute for e-bikes and overtime, and non-members pay $0.41 a minute [6]. Bike lanes are better than they used to be, but traffic is aggressive. Remember that traffic keeps to the right, so check left first when you step off the kerb.

Getting to JFK and Newark for the flight home

Most flights from New York to Australia go from JFK, either via the US West Coast or one-stop through Auckland. Leave plenty of time. The trip to JFK can take well over an hour.

Take the subway to Jamaica or Howard Beach. The E, J and Z trains reach Sutphin Blvd–Archer Av–JFK Airport station, and the A train reaches Howard Beach. Allow about 35 to 40 minutes from Midtown to Jamaica on the E [5].
Or take the LIRR to Jamaica. It's faster from Penn Station or Grand Central Madison. With CityTicket, the total trip to the terminal is about $14 off-peak or $16 peak [5].
Change to AirTrain JFK. Tap the same card or phone. You pay $8.75 when you enter or exit at Jamaica or Howard Beach. Rides between terminals are free [5].
Budget the total. Subway plus AirTrain is about $11.75 in 2026 [5], against a yellow-cab flat fare plus tolls and tip that is many times higher.
For Newark (EWR), take NJ Transit from Penn Station to Newark Liberty International Airport station, then AirTrain Newark to your terminal. Your rail ticket includes the airport access fee. Check the current NJ Transit fare before you go.

Coming back with three suitcases after Christmas in Australia? A cab or rideshare may be worth it. Just know the airport legs are where taxis earn their money.

Australian things to know

Your Opal habits translate. Tap on, never tap off. The subway charges one flat fare however far you go.
Safety. Smartraveller notes that pickpocketing is more common in crowded areas and on public transport, so keep your phone out of reach on packed trains [9].
Work benefits. Many New York employers offer pre-tax commuter benefits for transit costs. Ask HR when you start; our guide to job hunting and reading a New York offer explains the other benefits to look for.
No student concession like myki's. Reduced fares are for seniors, people with disabilities and some low-income New Yorkers, not international students.

Want to know which line other Aussies use to get from Astoria to Midtown, or who's sharing a cab to JFK before Christmas? Ask in Cooee USA, our Facebook group for Australians in the USA.

Getting around New York: OMNY, the fare cap and every train you'll need